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Ethnographers employed by Intel's People and Practices Group spent close to four years (2001-2005) traveling the world to find out how computers are being used by people in different cultures. Their findings in India, Tokyo, Peru, and New York City, New York differ, and they also found that technology is not the entire solution. Indian, Hungarian, and Peruvian examples are similar, however, in that successful applications were the result of in-depth study of social networks and local business entrepreneurship that led to key insights. The group was created to look for socially significant topics that will influence Intel's development in the future (generally 5-10 years out). They found that throughout the world public Internet facilities are emerging to fill niches and make lives better.' Public Internet facilities outside of urban areas are solving real problems for people who use them. Among abilities highlighted are Voice over Internet calling facilities and kiosks. For instance, in one village visited, a kiosk is available that residents can use to notify their government of problems with a well. Satyan Mishra CEO of Drishtee, a New Delhi, India, company that franchises information kiosks, says Drishtee provides kiosks that are located in small shops where a personal computer with dial-up to a Drishtee hub is installed. The hub is in an office in the primary government building of the district in which each kiosk is located.
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